--- title: Shepard Fairey: Barack Obama Didn't Live Up to 'Hope' Poster description: “Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he's compromised on that I never would have expected." canonical: https://time.com/3900222/obama-hope-shepard-fairey/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-28T19:23:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:06.936Z article:section: Politics og:title: Artist behind 'Hope' poster says Obama let him down og:description: Shepard Fairey says Obama compromised on a lot of things he never would have expected og:url: https://time.com/3900222/obama-hope-shepard-fairey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb9a4a816bd69049/6988520f0b72e3594d6e435f/shepard-fairey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: NY: 2014 National Arts Award og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Artist behind 'Hope' poster says Obama let him down twitter:description: Shepard Fairey says Obama compromised on a lot of things he never would have expected twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb9a4a816bd69049/6988520f0b72e3594d6e435f/shepard-fairey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Artist Behind 'Hope' Poster Is Disappointed in Obama ## Video: Know Right Now: Obama is Banning Distribution of Some Military-Style Equipment to Police [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Obama is Banning Distribution of Some Military-Style Equipment to Police](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Olw2brkV.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2015-05-18. Know Right Now: Obama is Banning Distribution of Some Military-Style Equipment to Police_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 28, 2015 7:23 PM UTC  Shepard Fairey attends the 2014 National Arts Award held at Cipriani 42nd St, New York City on October 20, 2014. Shepard Fairey attends the 2014 National Arts Award held at Cipriani 42nd St, New York City on October 20, 2014.Clint Spaulding/Patrick McMullan—Sipa USA/AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 28, 2015 7:23 PM UTC **Correction appended May 29** Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic “Hope” portrait that became the unofficial symbol of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign for the White House, thinks the President fell short of America’s expectations. “Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected,” Fairey said in an interview with [_Esquire_](http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/interviews/a35288/shepard-fairey-street-art-obama-hope-poster/). “I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought \[he’d support\].” Fairey, a street artist and executive producer of MTV web series _Rebel Music_, [told the magazine](http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/interviews/a35288/shepard-fairey-street-art-obama-hope-poster/) he thinks the president could have been braver throughout his eight years in office. But Fairey was also highly critical of lax rules on campaign contributions, which he said can lead those who write the biggest checks to believe they hold power over politicians. “I’m not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step,” he said. This isn’t the first time the artist has called out Obama for not living up to his campaign message of hope. In 2012, Fairey told the [_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2012/oct/17/obamas-hope-the-work-of-shepard-fairey), “Obama hasn’t done as well as I hoped, but I created the poster with the understanding that people in office can only achieve so much.” In 2013, he applauded a remixed version of his iconic poster that called out the President and National Security Agency in the wake of revelations that the agency collected data on Americans’ phone and web history in bulk. “I have never been an unconditional Obama supporter or cheerleader,” he told the [Los Angeles _Times_](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/08/entertainment/la-et-cm-shepard-fairey-20120908). “So I’m pleased to see people subvert my Obama images as a way to critique him and demonstrate the wide gap between some of his promises and actions.” **Correction**: The original version of this story misidentified Shepard Fairey’s role in the web series Rebel Music. 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